


The Yellow Calico

by yellobear



Series: Heith Week 2017 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 17:36:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10195211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellobear/pseuds/yellobear
Summary: Keith finds a lost cat and babysits for a few hours until his owner shows up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written in celebration of Heith Week 2017! The prompt for Day 1 was "Pets/Kids".

Keith couldn’t remember when exactly the gang of street cats moved into his neighborhood: it was like he woke up one day and they were just there. Actually, it was more like he woke up in the middle of night and thought he heard a baby crying outside, but it turned out to be two stray cats fucking. **  
**

During the day they took naps in patches of grass and under the parked cars. At the night they fought amongst each other, their hissing and crying so loud you could hear them from the 5th floor. Every week there seemed to be another litter of kittens, or a new member in the pack... Which was the case today, when Keith spotted someone he didn’t recognize.

In the back of the building, among all the trash and strays, was a beautiful calico. It sported a clean, fluffy coat with black and yellow patches. Its body was huge, and on its face was a little pink nose that was freckled from the sun. There were no scars, stains, bald spots, missing body parts, or even boogers to be seen on this cat. It basked in the sunlight with the other nasty cats, shimmering like a gold nugget among rocks and pebbles.

Keith found it odd, but he quickly went about his business and threw his garbage bag into one of the dumpsters. While the other misfits and freaks fled in terror, this prima donna of a cat remained and stared up at Keith with its bright yellow eyes. When he looked down and made eye contact, the calico opened its mouth and said, “meow”, greeting him like a tiny person. It brought a smile to Keith’s face.

That was when he noticed the collar around its neck, almost hidden under all its long fur. Appropriately, the tag was made of brass and had “Yellow” engraved on it in bold, capitalized letters. _Must have taken them all day to think of that one_ , thought Keith. There was also a phone number. “You wanna come home with me, Yellow?” Keith whispered to the cat, who replied with another mewl.

Yellow’s owner almost cried over the phone. “I thought I lost him for good!” he told Keith, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotion. “I’m at work right now, but I’ll pick him up as soon as I get off!” And with that, it was just Yellow and Keith for a few hours. “Just the two of us,” he had told the cat. “Try not to scratch my couch.” Yellow made itself right at home and began complaining.

Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. _Meow._

It rubbed against Keith as he tried to work on his essay, crying and leaving hair all over his favorite black jeans. “What do you want, cat?” he muttered under his breath. He looked down and met Yellow’s sad eyes. “Meow,” Yellow said.

Keith opened a can of tuna and placed it in front of Yellow with hopes that would be the end of it. But just as he began to type again, he heard another “meow” and his whole body tensed up. _What do cats eat?_ he asked the internet. Ham. Turkey. Chicken wings. Rice. Bread. Broccoli. Cucumber. But none of these things this cat would eat.

“What do you want from me, cat?”

“Meow.”

Finally it was 6PM and Yellow’s owner rang the buzzer downstairs. Keith quickly let him in and waited at the doorway, desperate to remove this crying, furry baby from his life. Just as he had been surprised to find a beautiful cat like Yellow in the company of delinquents and rejects, he was surprised to see its owner: he was tall, dark, and big enough to crush Keith under his foot. But from their talk over the phone, he knew this guy was a sensitive softie.

“Yellow! I can’t believe it!” he cried out as he hurried down the hall. The calico squirmed in Keith’s arms until it was placed on the ground, and then scurried over to its owner. The man scooped the cat up in his arms and cradled it.

“I missed you, boy,” he cooed, but then started wagging his finger in the cat’s face. “Don’t you ever go wandering around again!” Keith lingered in the doorway awkwardly, unsure if he should interrupt.

“Thanks for finding my cat, man,” the owner sighed, “He’s been missing for a whole day!” Keith’s nose scrunched up, somehow he finding humor in that statement. “Yeah, he seems really hungry. I tried to feed him, but he didn’t like anything I gave him.”

The owner flashed Keith a nervous smile. “Yeeah. He’ll only eat what I cook for him. He’s kind of spoiled that way.”

“Well, I found him eating literal trash with the rest of the stray cats,” Keith snapped, “So yeah.” As soon as those words left his mouth, Keith cursed himself. He didn’t know why he always spoke like that to other people, why he had to be such an _asshole_. But the words just flowed out of him, it was like a curse.

To Keith’s surprise, the conversation didn’t end there like it usually would (with either an awkward laugh or a confrontation). Instead Yellow’s owner laughed wholeheartedly at his snark and replied, “That’s a good one!”

He stared at Keith for a moment before he wiped his hand over his face.  “Geez, I’m sorry! I’m the worst-- What did you say your name was?”

“Keith,” he told him, unfolding his arms. “...I don’t think you ever told me your name.”

“It’s Tsuyoshi! But my friends call me Hunk.”


End file.
